The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 31 – Part 9

The Staff Branch Master heard the implication in his words: that he was being accused of turning traitor within the Guild, of letting Zhao Min escape. He was a man of fierce temper by nature, and he bellowed, “You insolent pup! You show no respect to your elders. Are you riding on the Wudang Order's coattails?” With that, he swung his iron staff towards Song Qingshu's head. In his fury, the blow carried tremendous force.

Song Qingshu could not swallow the insult. He raised his jian to block. Steel clashed against iron with a ring, sparking several gleams of fire. Song Qingshu felt his tiger’s mouth¹ ache dully. The Staff Branch Master cried, “You surnamed Song! You dare defy your superiors. Are you a spy planted here by the enemy?” His second blow came down.

From the temple gate a figure darted out and thrust a jian against the iron staff, deflecting the strike. “Branch Master, please, do not be angry.” The man was Chen Youliang the Eight-Bag Elder. He asked, “Where is that little fiend Zhao Min?”

The Staff Branch Master pointed at Song Qingshu, seething. “He let her go!”

Song Qingshu hurried to answer, “No, it was the Branch Master who let her go!”

The two were still arguing when the Twin Xuanming Elders² burst out of the temple with a whoop. Seeing no sign of Zhao Min anywhere, they knew she had already escaped. With a long laugh, they struck out with all four palms. Four Beggars’ Guild disciples fell at once. By the time the Law-Enforcing Elder and the Dharma-Transmitting Elder led the pursuit, the elders’ laughter was already echoing over a hundred feet away, beyond all hope of catching them.

The truth was this: when Zhang Wuji saw Song Qingshu reverse his jian and strike at the back of Zhao Min’s head, he knew the blow might fall light or heavy. Light would leave her unconscious, while heavy would kill her at once. He did not hesitate. Leaping down from the pine, he unleashed the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth³ and pushed at the Staff Branch Master’s iron staff from behind, sweeping it across to knock aside Song Qingshu’s jian. The Great Shift he had mastered was already beyond all reckoning in its subtlety, and in the months spent idle on the desert island he had studied the Holy Fire Tablet⁴ Secrets translated by Xiaozhao further. The two arts, combined, surpassed the eerie martial arts of the three Persian Envoys ten times over. Now, unleashed without warning, even masters of the Staff Branch Master’s and Song Qingshu’s calibre failed to detect it. The Staff Branch Master supposed Song Qingshu had parried his staff. Song Qingshu, on the other hand, plainly saw the Staff Branch Master thrust his staff over to deflect his jian. In the instant that both men were startled, Zhang Wuji’s left hand shot out, seized a Seven-Bag Disciple, and hurled him over the wall. The Staff Branch Master and Song Qingshu, seeing a figure fly over the wall, assumed it was Zhao Min escaping, and both gave chase. Zhang Wuji had already caught Zhao Min in his arms and leapt to the ridge of the main hall.

Under the broad daylight, nowhere was hidden. Yet the beggar throng had swarmed out of the temple gate behind the Staff Branch Master and Song Qingshu, and though many caught a blur above their heads, as though something had passed over, the toppled Maitreya statue had filled the hall with dust and smoke. The beggars jostled one another in chaos at the gate. Those with the highest skill were besieging the Twin Xuanming Elders. The weaker ones, panicked and directionless, failed to notice.

Zhao Min, snatched from danger, found herself held in a pair of arms strong and sure. She seemed to float on clouds and mist up to the temple roof. She turned her head. Beneath the dazzling sunlight she saw thick brows and handsome features. It was Zhang Wuji. She could scarcely believe her own eyes. In her surge of joy she cried, “It’s you!”

Zhang Wuji clapped a hand over her mouth. He cast a glance in all directions. The Beggars’ Guild disciples crowded the Maitreya temple front and rear. To save Zhao Min and escape outright would not be difficult, but now that he knew the Guild was plotting against the Ming Order, and that Song shixiong of the Wudang Order had entered their ranks, it would be a waste to leave without learning the full business. He also saw Song Qingshu and the Staff Branch Master quarrelling. The Staff Branch Master’s eyes already showed murder in them. The Guild harboured many crafty and dangerous men. Song Qingshu might well fall victim to their schemes. And Han Lin’er, loyal to the last, must be rescued. Seeing dust still swirling in the main hall, he took the risk of entering and finding a place to hide. He darted forward, dropped from the eaves, hooked his feet over the timber, then drew his legs back and slid behind a Buddha statue to the left. In the hall, only a few beggar disciples, crushed by the fallen statue, lay groaning on the ground. Han Lin’er had been taken somewhere else.

Zhang Wuji looked around but could find no cover. Zhao Min pointed at a great leather drum. The drum was mounted high on a wooden frame, over ten feet above the floor, facing a great bronze bell on the right. Zhang Wuji understood at once. He slipped along the wall to the rear of the drum and drew his right index finger across its surface. With a soft tearing sound, the ox-hide covering split in a long seam. His left foot found the frame’s crossbar, and his finger traced a vertical line below, the two cuts crossing in a cross. Holding Zhao Min, he wriggled through the opening.

The drum was large, but with the two of them inside there was no room to turn. Zhao Min leaned against Zhang Wuji, her breath soft and fine. The great drum had long been made, and years of dust filled its belly. Amid the grime and must, Zhang Wuji caught drifts of fragrance from Zhao Min. Love and hatred surged in him together. He had a thousand words to demand of her, but this was no place for questions. He felt her soft body against his, each silken strand brushing his cheek. A shock ran through him. I was wrong to rescue her. How can I be intimate with her like this? He pushed her head away with his hand, refusing to let her rest against his shoulder.

Zhao Min, annoyed, drove her elbow into his chest. Zhang Wuji borrowed her force and returned it. The rebound struck her, and she could not suppress a cry. He had foreseen it. His hand clamped over her mouth.

Below, the Law-Enforcing Elder’s voice rose. “Report to the Guild Chief: the enemy has fled without a trace. Your subordinates are unworthy and failed to take her. We beg the Guild Chief to punish us.”

Shi Huolong said, “Enough! The enemy’s martial arts are extraordinary. Everyone saw it with their own eyes. Damn it all, it’s the lot of us being unlucky. It’s not the Elder’s fault.”

The Law-Enforcing Elder said, “I thank the Guild Chief.”

Then the Staff Branch Master accused Song Qingshu of letting the enemy escape. Song Qingshu argued his case. Each side held to its own version, and the hall crackled with tension.

Shi Huolong said, “Brother Chen, what do you make of the matter?”

Chen Youliang said, “Report to the Guild Chief: the Staff Branch Master is a veteran of the Guild, and his words carry no falsehood. But Brother Song joined us in earnest, and the Zhao fiend is his enemy besides. He would not deliberately release her. In your humble brother’s opinion, that fiend Zhao Min’s martial arts are bizarre. She must have used the Branch Master’s own iron staff, borrowing its force to deflect Brother Song’s jian. In the confusion, neither side perceived it clearly, and a misunderstanding arose.”

Inside the drum, Zhang Wuji silently admired the man. This Chen Youliang is formidable indeed. He did not see what happened, yet he has guessed nine parts in ten of the truth.

Shi Huolong said, “That rings very true. Brothers, you both serve the Guild. Do not let a small matter spoil the peace between you.”

The Staff Branch Master snorted angrily. “Even if he…”

Chen Youliang cut him off. “Brother Song, the Branch Master is a man of high virtue and long standing. Even if he wronged you in his accusation, you should accept the lesson in good faith. Apologise to the Branch Master at once.”

Song Qingshu had no choice. He stepped forward and bowed. “Branch Master, I was rude just now. I beg your forgiveness.”

The Staff Branch Master’s fury, blocked from eruption, could only escape in a grunt. “Enough!”

Chen Youliang’s words seemed to side against Song Qingshu, yet in saying that Zhao Min had “used the Branch Master’s iron staff to deflect Brother Song’s jian” and that “the Branch Master is a man of high virtue and long standing; even if he wronged you, you should accept the lesson in good faith,” he was in fact casting blame on the Staff Branch Master. The Guild’s elders all heard it. But Chen Youliang had lately become the Guild Chief’s favourite, and Shi Huolong listened to and followed him in all things, so the others held their tongues.

Shi Huolong said, “Brother Chen, that little fiend who caused trouble just now is the beloved daughter of the Prince of Runan.⁵ The Ming Order is the court’s enemy. How is it that when we were cursing the Ming Order’s little demon Zhang Wuji, the Tartar⁶ princess seemed to take the curses as though aimed at her own father and brothers? It is most puzzling.”

Chen Youliang mused without answer. The Bowl Branch Master said, “I saw the Tartar princess with tears in her eyes, her manner most indignant. Brother Chen cursed the Ming Order’s Order Leader, yet the Tartar princess looked as though someone were cursing her own father and elder brother. It leaves one deeply bewildered.”

Song Qingshu said, “Report to the Guild Chief: I happen to know the reason.”

Shi Huolong said, “Speak, Brother Song.”

Song Qingshu said, “Though the Ming Order opposes the court, that little fiend of a princess has fallen for Zhang Wuji. She would marry him if she could, and so she defended him with all her might.”

The Beggars’ Guild heroes all cried “Ah!” in surprise.

Inside the great drum, Zhang Wuji heard every word. His heart pounded wildly. His mind asked over and over, Is it true? Is it true?

Zhao Min turned her head and gazed at him. Though the drum was dim, Zhang Wuji’s eyes were sharp. By the faintest light he saw infinite tenderness in her gaze. His chest warmed. His arms tightened about her, drawing her body closer to his. He leaned towards her cherry lips.

Then suddenly he remembered Yin Li’s mangled corpse. All tenderness turned to hatred. His right hand gripped Zhao Min’s arm and squeezed hard.

Though he did not pour his full strength into the grip, Zhao Min could not endure it. Darkness swam before her eyes. The pain nearly fainted her. She could not help but cry out, as Yin Li would have cried, “You heartless, short-lived wretch!” But she mastered herself and stayed silent. Tears spilled from her eyes and fell upon the back of Zhang Wuji’s hand, then traced up his sleeve.

Zhang Wuji’s heart was iron. He took no notice.

Chen Youliang’s voice continued. “How do you know this? Is it truly so?”

Song Qingshu said bitterly, “That Zhang Wuji is plain of face, without a shred of handsomeness. He has merely learnt the Ming Order’s heretical arts, which excel at beguiling women. Many young women have fallen into his net.”

The Law-Enforcing Elder nodded. “True enough. The Ming Order’s licentious members do possess such methods, for both men and women. Ji Xiaofu, a disciple of the Emei Order, was ensnared by Yang Xiao the Ming Order heretic’s dark arts, and her ruin followed. Zhang Wuji’s father, Zhang Cuishan, was likewise trapped by the White-Browed Eagle King’s daughter’s demonic sorcery.⁷ The Tartar princess must have fallen to this little demon’s art of deflowering. She lost her virtue to him, found pleasure in it, and now the deed is done, she has sunk into depravity beyond recall.”

The Beggars’ Guild heroes cried assent. The Dharma-Transmitting Elder, burning with righteous indignation, said, “Such scum of the jianghu⁸ should be put down by all. Otherwise, how many more chaste women of good family will lose their honour to this young lecher?”

Shi Huolong licked his lips, most envious. “Though the fiend princess is a Tartar girl, she is a flower of beauty, and a fine one at that! Damn it, that young lecher Zhang Wuji has no lack of amorous fortune!”

Zhang Wuji trembled with rage. He was still a virgin, yet since Miejue of the Emei Order, everyone who had cursed him as a lecher was beyond counting. The injustice had nowhere to lodge. And as for Zhao Min losing her virtue to him, and the deed being done, he had no idea where that notion came from.

Then a cold thought struck him. If they discover Miss Zhao and me huddled together here, it will only confirm their vile slander.

The Dharma-Transmitting Elder continued, “Zhou Zhiruo of the Emei Order has fallen into this lecher’s hands. Her chastity can hardly be preserved. Brother Song, do not let this weigh upon you. We shall certainly help you win back your beloved wife, and we will not let Ji Xiaofu’s tragedy be repeated today.”

The Law-Enforcing Elder said, “Eldest Brother is right. The Wudang Order could not protect Yin Liting then, and it cannot protect Song Qingshu now. Brother Song has joined our Guild. If we do not avenge him, if we do not help him fulfil this wish, why would he leave a fine future as the Wudang Order’s zhangmen-in-waiting to become a Six-Bag disciple in our Guild?”

Footnotes

1. 虎口 – hǔkǒu. Lit. tiger’s mouth. The fleshy pad between thumb and forefinger. ↩

2. 玄冥二老 – Xuánmíng Èr Lǎo. The Twin Xuanming Elders. A pair of brothers who practise the Xuanming Divine Palms, feared throughout the jianghu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 乾坤大挪移 – Qiánkūn Dà Nuóyí. The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth. The supreme secret art of the Ming Order, capable of redirecting force, reversing the flow of an opponent’s attack, and manipulating qi through Bagua principles. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 圣火令 – Shènghuǒ Lìng. The Holy Fire Tablets. Twelve iron tablets carried by the Persian Envoys of the Ming Order, inscribed with the Order’s most esoteric martial arts. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 汝阳王 – Rǔyáng Wáng. The Prince of Runan, a Mongol nobleman and father of Zhao Min. ↩

6. 鞑子 – dázi. A Han Chinese derogatory term for the Mongols and other northern nomadic peoples. ↩

7. 白眉鹰王 – BáiMéi YīngWáng. The White-Browed Eagle King, Yin Tianzheng, leader of the Tianying Order and father of Yin Susu, Zhang Wuji’s mother. ↩

8. 江湖 – jiānghú. Lit. rivers and lakes. The itinerant martial world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩